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INJURY NEWS: Talented @UCSB_Baseball RHP Noah Davis will likely miss the rest of the season with a partial UCL tear. Davis will try to rehab it and come back later in the year, but unlikely. Tough loss for the #Gauchos.

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Takeaways: Dissecting Texas-LSU

What’s inside

• David Hamilton story
• Zach Zubia story
• More Takeaways From Texas-LSU

BATON ROUGE, La. — Should Texas have a highly successful 2018 campaign, there’s a strong chance shortstop David Hamilton is a major reason for it.

If you go look at Hamilton’s slash line, you won’t be overly impressed. He’s hitting .250 after seven games and has a .357 slugging percentage, along with a .364 on-base percentage. But the 82nd-ranked prospect in the 2019 College Prospect class has been much better than the numbers suggest from an offensive standpoint, and he continues to show out as one of the nation’s premier defenders at his position.

Hamilton’s importance to this Texas team was no more evident than in the series finale against LSU. After allowing 23 runs the first two games and surprisingly looking a little intimated by the atmosphere and venue at Alex Box Stadium, Hamilton took control in the series finale. He recorded three hits, he hit all three balls hard, and added a double in the contest.

He also set the tone from a defensive standpoint. Early in the finale, it looked like Texas was in a world of hurt. The Longhorns went quietly in the top half of the first inning, and LSU loaded the bases with righthander Blair Henley struggling with his command and Nick Webre at the plate. Webre hit a grounder to Hamilton, who made a tough place seem incredibly easy, and had a lightning fast transition to second baseman Kody Clemens, who executed the throw to first base for the 6-4-3 double play. Inning over, and the Longhorns seized the momentum the rest of the way. That’s the type of impact Hamilton can have on his team.

“Defensively, I think David is a little more physical this year. His hands are so good, and he’s really learning how to make plays that in the past could have really handcuffed him,” Texas coach David Pierce said. “He’s really growing up at his position.”